England should call off their tour of India, says former England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Lord MacLaurin.
The squad are awaiting a security report before deciding whether to return to the country following the terrorist attacks on Mumbai.
But MacLaurin told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I think the ECB will probably say yes and I think it will be very sad.
"I don't think any security people can actually say it's going to be safe. If it was left to me, I wouldn't go."
Kevin Pietersen's team - scheduled to remain in India until Christmas Eve - returned home following the 26 November attacks, which left 188 people dead.
High Commissioner on cricket fears
The final two one-day matches were cancelled and a planned three-day warm-up match has since been scrapped, though there may yet be a two-day warm-up in Abu Dhabi.
However, England have been offered a revised schedule, with the first Test on 11 December in Chennai and the second beginning on 19 December in Mohali.
The ECB's security adviser, Reg Dickason, has been preparing a report specifically related to Chennai.
Indian High Commissioner Shiv Shankar Mukherjee believes the England players will be safe if they tour but understands if they decided against returning to India.
"I wouldn't blame anyone who feels unsafe from taking personal decisions on the basis of his or her perception," Mukherjee told Newsnight.
"If you think back to what happened in Mumbai what happened over three days of slaughtering of innocents then I would leave it to them and their own consience - I wouldn't stand in judgement."
Former captain Nasser Hussain believes England can "make a statement" by returning.
"Eventually, the game has to go on," Hussain told the Daily Mail.
"If the security people say it is as safe as it can be and as long as the Indian people want it, England can make a statement by going back."
Another former England captain Mike Atherton wrote in the Times newspaper: "The smart money is on England returning to India towards the end of the week.
"[The players] are duty-bound to accept the security advice offered to them and, unless anything dramatic happens in the next 24 hours, that advice is likely to suggest that the tour should go ahead."
But the ECB has told players they will not be forced to go - a stance MacLaurin agrees with.
"I don't think anybody has a duty to go back," he stated.
"These terrorists have specifically targeted British people and American people. I fully understand the England players, especially those with young families, might think this is a step too far."
Hussain found himself in a similar position in 2001 when his England side toured India shortly after the attacks in New York.
On that occasion, Robert Croft and Andrew Caddick decided not to tour and Hussain said he would understand if any player opted against returning to India.
"I had no problem accepting the decisions of Croft and Caddick not to tour," added Hussain.
"I told them it would not be held against them and it should not be held against Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison or any other England players if they decide they are not prepared to go.
"I appreciate this is different because India itself has been targeted but the country is so important to cricket and to the Indian people that we owe it to them to go back and play, as long as every possible precaution has been taken."
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